Stalin again hits out at BJP-led Centre over UCC

Chennai: DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday alleged that the proposed move to facilitate implementation of the Uniform Civil Code is only meant to target and "wreak vengeance" on those opposed to the BJPled Centre.

Slamming the BJP-led Union government, Stalin said the saffron party did not come forward to fulfill its poll promises, had an "anti-people" attitude and imposed "religion" or "sanatana" on the people. It is an autocratic regime, he alleged.

Referring to the Uniform Civil Code proposal, he said the nation already had civil and criminal laws, and by scrapping personal laws, the Central government is now attempting to usher in the UCC.

The proposed move is meant to target and "wreak vengeance" on those who oppose the saffron party, its ideology and its regime at the Centre, and cause hassles and grief to the people, he claimed.

A government is, hence, needed at the Centre similar to the Dravidian model of government in Tamil Nadu, which has been continuously fulfilling its assurances to the people made ahead of the 2021 Assembly election, he added.

Stalin alleged that the BJP government at the Centre intimidated politicians opposed to it using the CBI, Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate.

On June 29, Stalin had slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pushing the UCC and alleged that the PM was thinking of winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by fanning communal sentiments and creating confusion in the country.

The chief minister, without naming Governor R N Ravi, hit out at him for "blabbering" on Vallalar (1823-1874). The background to the CM's taunt could be traced to Ravi hailing Vallalar last month as an "icon, the supreme star of Sanatana Dharma".

A revered saint, Vallalar is respected by the Dravidian movement for his reformist ideals and when Ravi's comment sough to bring him into the Sanatana fold, it was opposed by DMK leaders and its allies.

Stalin's comment is a continuation of the ruling DMK regime's oppostion to labelling Vallalar as a spiritual leader of the Sanatana Dharma. The DMK chief made the remarks while attending a wedding here. (PTI)